Ways to eat healthy during Taco Tuesday suppers
In our house, Taco Tuesday is always looked forward to.
My grandchildren love it. We can help make it carb friendly by doing things like making your own chips using low carb wraps that we cut into chip size and fry it air fry into crispy chips.
For the tacos, again use the low carb wraps and USE soft tacos. We can pile the cheeses, vegetables, and sour cream on our choices of meats.
Mix it up by using fish, pulled chicken, steak, ground meat or shrimp. Any meat you choose for your taco base will work.
We can make our own cheese sauce, Pico de Gallo, and taco sauces. We can make the fried rice using cauliflower rice as a replacement.
Just remember, a healthy life style takes planning and moderation.
CHUNKY TACO SAUCE FOR CANNING
8 qts. tomatoes, diced & peeled
1 qt. chopped onions
1 qt. chopped sweet peppers
1 qt. chopped celery
1 qt. cider vinegar
1 c. sugar substitute
2 c. water
2 tbsp. brown sugar substitute
1/3 c. canning salt (not iodized)
1 tbsp. whole pickling spice (tie in cloth)
2 tbsp. chili powder
2-3 tsp.. cayenne pepper (more for hot)
1 tbsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. lemon juice
Black pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in large, heavy kettle. Bring to boil; simmer 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Pour hot sauce into clean, sterilized pint jars, process in pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure for 30 minutes. Yield: 14 pints
CHEESE SAUCE
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
dash pepper
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper (optional)
1 cup shredded cheese
Make a white sauce and cook over hot water in a double boiler until the mixture has thickened to desired consistency. Add seasonings and cheese, stirring until cheese has melted.
PICO DE GALLO
8 to 10 Roma tomatoes (seeded)
1/2 to 1 red onion (to taste)
1 jalapeno pepper (or more to taste)
2 medium cloves garlic
juice of one lime
1 tbsp. olive oil
4 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp. coarse salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
Seed and dice tomatoes. Chop onion, jalapeno and garlic to a fine consistency. To these ingredients, add the fresh cilantro, salt, pepper, olive oil and lime. Mix well.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Best if served the next day.
MEXICAN
CAULIFLOWER RICE
1 cup of cauliflower rice
1 1/2 cup water
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. dried basil or 1 tbsp. fresh basil
pinch cayenne or red pepper flakes
1 can tomato sauce
1/3 teaspoon lemon pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
In medium size cooking pan, heat olive oil, garlic, onion, green pepper and add seasonings. Stir in rice and lightly toast. Then add tomato sauce and water. Cook for until warmed through.
TOSTADA CHIPS
low carb wraps
oil
Cut wraps into triangles and let them dry. Fry: Add enough corn, safflower or vegetable oil to a skillet to have about 1/2 inch and place over medium high heat for about 4 to 6 minutes. Once the oil is hot but not smoking, add enough tortilla triangles (depending on how large your skillet is) to have them in a single layer. It doesn’t matter if some triangles get cozy with others, but you don’t want to add so many that there is more than a single layer.
Let them fry for about 45 seconds to 1 minute on one side, before flipping them over. Let them fry and crisp on the other side for another 30 seconds to 1 minute or until they have achieved a nice golden tanned color (but not overly browned) and are crispy. Remove them from oil and place them in a baking sheet covered with paper towels Sprinkle with salt to taste.
Toast or Bake: Spray or brush a very light coat of vegetable or corn oil on the tortilla triangles. Toast them on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, turning them once or twice along the way, or until tanned and crisp. Remove from oven, sprinkle with salt and let them cool.